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Staff of Armadyl
The Staff of Armadyl, also known as the Siphon, is one of the twelve ancient Elder Artefacts created by the elder gods. It is named after its most famous wielder Armadyl, the god of justice. Being one of the god slayers, the staff is one of the few weapons capable of slaying young gods, as well as transferring large amounts of their power to its wielder afterwards. The staff plays an important role in Gielinor's history, and is known to have played a key-role in many important historical events. The staff heavily features in the quest Temple of Ikov, where the Mahjarrat Lucien tasks players to collect the staff for him. It is also seen during the quests While Ganodermos Sleeps, Ritual of the Mahjarrat, The World Wakes, Kindred Spirits, Children of Zaros, and Torva's Endgame, and is mentioned in Missing, Presumed Death, Fate of the Gods, and the miniquest Curse of Zaros. The true use for the staff is to fuse elements together cleanly and with precision. Its companion, The Blade, is able to split elements. The staff is able to imbue mortal wielders with the ability to use its tremendous powers and amazingly increases magical and defensive abilities. Contrary to popular belief, the orb at the top of the staff, which was added by Armadyl after its creation, is not the source of the staff's power, but rather the shaft. History of the Staff The twelve Elder artefacts were originally created by the Elder gods, who used these items as tools in their many attempts to create a perfect world, after they were dissatisfied with the results from using their bare hands alone. The staff of Armadyl is one of these artefacts. Although the staff might be among the majority of the artefacts created by the Elder god Zelrat, it is unknown which specific Elder God is responsible for its creation. It is also unknown for what exact purpose the staff was created. After they succeeded in creating the perfect world named Gielinor, the Elder gods abandoned their works for an unknown reason, leaving behind their artefacts on the worlds where they were last used. The staff of Armadyl was among the many artefacts to be left behind on Gielinor, along with the stone of Zelrat, the Elder Kiln, the horn and possibly others. After the mysterious departure of the Elder Gods, various mortals searched and managed to obtain some of the artefacts. As possessing an elder artefact causes an increase in power over time, these mortals soon became so powerful they were to be called gods themselves. Some of these 'young gods' continued their search for the remaining artefacts, as being in possession of all twelve artefacts would make an ultimate god. Because of this, many wars erupted on the worlds where some artefacts were supposedly located. The First and Second Age After a young god named Ganodermos arrived at Gielinor at the start of the first age, he discovered the artefacts located there. These artefacts, most notably the stone of Zelrat, caused a heavy increase in his godly powers. Admiring the perfection of Gielinor, he decided to use his powers and that of the artefacts to share the world with mortal beings. Although he mostly made use of the stone of Zelrat to shape the world to his desire, he kept the other artefacts, the staff included, well hidden in his fear for their danger. With the use of the World gate, Ganodermos brought many races like humans, elves and dwarves to Gielinor, so that they could live in peace in the perfect world. After he was finished, Ganodermos descended into the earth and fell asleep. The staff of Armadyl, along with the other artefacts, remained hidden during and after this event. Throughout the second age, many young gods like Celestial arrived on Gielinor in their search for the artefacts. Many races soon started to worship these gods, while other followers came with their god from other worlds. Shortly after their arrival, many territories were created by each god. Zaros, also known as 'The empty lord', soon became the most powerful deity of the second age. At the peak of his power, and with a great kingdom and many followers under his rule, he is believed to be nearly equal to Ganodermos. It was during the second age when the god Armadyl managed to obtain the staff by unknown means. As a result of this, the staff of Armadyl received its current name. Armadyl then added an orb to the staff in the shape of his symbol, although the majority of the power continued to come from the shaft. Armadyl claims t hat the staff, along with a second elder artefact, resulted in his godhood, though he does not reveal his method of ascendance. It is poss ible one or the other impacted his power or resulted in deification. At some point, the staff was hidden away in an underground temple, which is very likely to be the Temple of Ikov, a known hiding place of the staff for many years. Into the hands of Demigra Close to the end of the Second Age, the staff was found in the temple by a Celestialists explorer named Valdez. Valdez himself claimed that he stumbled upon the temple accidentally, which appeared to be abandoned. The reason why the temple was seemingly abandoned remains a mystery. Wishing to increase the powers of his lord by granting him the artefact, he set off to Celestial's hideout on Entrana. Before Valdez could reach his goal, however, he was robbed by a thief named Rennard, who knocked him out and took the staff from him. Not knowing what it was, but noticing it being a powerful god weapon, he decided to sell it for a high price. He then hired a messenger named Kharrim to send a message of the staff to an interested buyer. Kharrim decided to deliver the message to his other employer Demigra, a Mahjarrat general of Zaros who, at that time, was planning to overthrow his master along with others of his guard, and to ascend to godhood himself. Around this time he somehow already managed to obtain the stone of Zelrat, the mightiest of the Elder artefacts, which likely caused an increase in his power already. Eventually, he obtained the staff of Armadyl as well after purchasing it from Rennard in a small tavern. And with a god slayer now in his possession, his plans for rebellion against the empty lord could be set in motion. Lennissa, a spy of Saradomin, got ear of the purchase. Fearing the danger of the staff falling in Zaros' hands, making him all-powerful, and the chance of being uncovered as a spy by the Zarosians, she decided to send a message about the purchase to her comrade Dhalak instead of sending it directly to Celestial. She trusted Dhalak to inform Celestial about the theft of the staff, so that he could easily resolve the issue. Dhalak had other plans, however. Zaros was at that time known to be an enemy of Celestial. Seeing Demigra's rebellion as an opportunity to make the rival of his lord fall from his throne, he decided to secretly aid Zamorak in his attempt to overthrow his master. Without anyone noticing, he cast a magical spell on the staff which prevented Zaros from sensing its great power when it got close to him. Because of this, Demigra would be able to get close enough to Zaros without being stopped. The Rebellion The plans of rebellion were soon put into action. Demigra and his followers, which included other Mahjarrat such as Hazeel and Zemouregal, Elder Demon, set off to Zaros' fortress under the pretence of discussing war plans against Celestial and other deities. However, once they arrived, they launched their attack on the empty lord and his followers. While Demigra's men distracted Zaros' bodyguards, Demigra unsheathed the staff and plunged it into Zaros' back. Despite this however, Zaros continued to fight. After a huge battle between the god and the mahjarrat, Zaros put his hands around Demigra's throat while he plunged towards him, stumbled, and fell in such a way that Demigra was impaled with the staff as well. At this moment, a lot of Zaros' power was transferred through the staff into Demigra, making Demigra more powerful than ever before. This was not the end of Zaros, however. He managed to obtain a lot of power and knowledge during his reign, which allowed him to abandon his corporeal form to avoid being killed. While his spirit was cast away to a distant plane, he cast a curse on those responsible for his fall. Shortly after the betrayal, the other deities appeared and immediately banished Demigra from Gielinor for what he did. This did not stop him, however, as he returned to Gielinor soon after as a fully-fledged god himself. Knowing that Celestial claimed the Stone of Zelrat as his own, he declared war on him. This was the cause of the infamous God Wars, which lasted for around 4000 years. In the hands of Torva The dragonkin did not maintain their hold over the staff for long, however, as the Dragonkin Strisath, tasked with guarding the staff, was soon lured and trapped into the shadow realm by the Zarosian Mahjarrat Torva. After taking the staff from the Dragonkin, he easily created and added a replacement orb on the artefact. He then used the staff to reveal the connection between the Dragonkin and the stone of Zelrat, leading him to its new location. The Assasination of Ganodermos It was around this time that the resting place of Ganodermos was discovered by Orlando Smith and the adventurer, which caused many of the gods' strongest followers to set off to the hideout to attempt destroying Ganodermos, break the edicts and bring their gods back to Gielinor. The adventurer then teamed up with the Guardians of Ganodermos, several high druids and other Ganodermosians, battling together against the invaders to protect Ganodermos. After the Celestialists and Zarosians managed to break through, a choice was given to the adventurer to either help slay Ganodermos, wake him or protect him. Once again, the choice of the adventurer had no result, as an unknown individual broke into Ganodermos' chamber before anyone else could do so. The adventurer alone then entered the chamber and after they beheld Ganodermos himself, Torva appeared with the staff of Armadyl in his hands and, after smiling viciously at the adventurer, struck Ganodermos with a massive blast from the staff. In his last breath, Ganodermos explained his ways to the adventurer, asking them to protect Gielinor in his stead as guardian of the world. After appointing his World guardian, Ganodermos died. This marked the beginning of the Sixth Age, where the gods are once again able to continue their long time struggle on Gielinor without the interference of Ganodermos, and leaving the world guardian to decide on how to lead Gielinor into its future.